Current Status

Identification of version

Look under Settings->Info - if Version begins with 03, the unit is a v2. All other indicators, such as markings on the casing or packaging, are unreliable due to SanDisk's practice of using the same values on different models.

USB Mode

As of Firmware version 03.01.14A, you can go to Settings/USB Mode and select between three options: "Auto Detect", "MTP" (Media Transport Protocol), and "MSC" (USB Media Storage Class Device aka USB Drive).

On Ubuntu and Windows 98SE, as well as any other OS that does not support MTP, both before the firmware update and afterwards using "Auto Detect", the Sansa appears automatically as a USB Drive. On 98SE some generic MSC drivers are needed. YMMV.

If you don't have that firmware, there is a way to change into MSC mode:

1. Power on your Sansa e200v2 2. Switch ON the hold button 3. Press the |<< button and plug in your USB cable 4. Keep it pressed until the Sansa is completely recognized by your OS

This should work on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Recovery Mode

The flash of the Player can be directly accessed via USB with the following method:

Take the player completely apart

Search for the two open solder pads between the flash and the connector: (picture)

Bridge them with a piece of wire or something

Connect the E200 to your PC (preferably running Linux)

Execute "sudo fdisk -l". It should report a drive without partitions, with a size of your flash (approximately, there is some 1000/1024 Bytes rounding)

Take away the wire bridging the two pads.

If it doesn't works, try to repeat it several times - it is a bit timing-critic. Now you can access the whole flash over that drive (reported by fdisk). You can dump the whole OF-Image onto that by using e.g.:dd if=orig_image.bin of=/dev/sde (replace orig_image.bin and sde with the actual filename and drive)

If you are somehow unsure with some step, just get in contact with some Sansa-V2 hackers on IRC